★★.5

2.5 stars – A good retelling but not for me

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis

A lovely girl grows up in isolation where her father, a powerful magus, has spirited them to in order to keep them safe.

We all know the tale of Prospero’s quest for revenge, but what of Miranda? Or Caliban, the so-called savage Prospero chained to his will?

In this incredible retelling of the fantastical tale, Jacqueline Carey shows readers the other side of the coin—the dutiful and tenderhearted Miranda, who loves her father but is terribly lonely. And Caliban, the strange and feral boy Prospero has bewitched to serve him. The two find solace and companionship in each other as Prospero weaves his magic and dreams of revenge.

Always under Prospero’s jealous eye, Miranda and Caliban battle the dark, unknowable forces that bind them to the island even as the pangs of adolescence create a new awareness of each other and their doomed relationship.

Miranda and Caliban is bestselling fantasy author Jacqueline Carey’s gorgeous retelling of The Tempest. With hypnotic prose and a wild imagination, Carey explores the themes of twisted love and unchecked power that lie at the heart of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, while serving up a fresh take on the play’s iconic characters.

Review

My first thoughts upon receiving this ARC was yay! Jacqueline Carey is back!

Until I started reading and my first thoughts changed to “why does a six year old tell her story like a forty year old?”

I’m going to be an utter heathen here and freely admit that I have never read The Tempest by Shakespeare and I have no intention of doing so either.

The book started off on the right foot, well written with a correct tone of writing and then I actually paid attention to what I was reading and my first thought was once again “why is this six year old telling her story like she’s 40 years old?”

It gave off this vibe of utter wrongness throughout the story telling and the book was completely off-putting; although I like Jacqueline Carey and I’ve read her work before, I was unfortunately disappointed by this book. My opinion isn’t based solely on Jacqueline’s writing as it was very good but rather the topic of choice, The Tempest was probably not the best play to give an erotic twist to, with regards to any Shakespeare play, I don’t feel any of them are suitable to give an erotic twist to. I reached 50% and almost gave up; it was a good retelling, with a standard of writing I’m used to from Jacqueline Carey but it was 100% not for me.

I don’t quite know where to go with this review because I was disappointed with the subject matter and parts of the writing, it wasn’t a bad book, don’t get me wrong, I just don’t think it is wholly for me.